Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro vs Google Pixel 6a
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.67-inch Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G) that was released on April 30, 2020, against the Google Pixel 6a, which is powered by Google Tensor and came out 24 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
- Has a 0.57 inch larger screen size
- Shows 19% longer battery life (38:13 vs 32:11 hours)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 512GB
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Comes with 610 mAh larger battery capacity: 5020 vs 4410 mAh
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- Supports higher wattage charging (33W versus 18W)
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
- Has a built-in infrared port
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 6a
- Waterproof body (IP67 classification)
- 2.4x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (914K versus 383K)
- Delivers 43% higher peak brightness (880 against 617 nits)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
- Optical image stabilization
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Stereo speakers
- More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 12
- OLED display (versus competitor''s IPS LCD)
- The phone is 2-years newer
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | IPS LCD | OLED |
| Size | 6.67 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 395 ppi | 429 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 500 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 1100 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 84.5% | 83% |
| Display features | - |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.8% | 96.9% |
| PWM | 2404 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 35.2 ms | 3 ms |
| Contrast | 1649:1 | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 165.8 mm (6.53 inches) | 152.2 mm (5.99 inches) |
| Width | 76.7 mm (3.02 inches) | 71.8 mm (2.83 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.8 mm (0.35 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 209 g (7.37 oz) | 178 g (6.28 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | IP67 |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Metal |
| Colors | White, Gray, Green | White, Black, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G | Google Tensor |
| Max clock | 2300 MHz | 2800 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 465 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 2 cores at 2.3 GHz: Kryo 465 Gold (Cortex-A76) |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55
- 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
| L3 cache | - | 4 MB |
| Lithography process | 8 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 618 | Mali-G78 MP20 |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 1280 |
| GPU clock | 750 MHz | 848 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~384 GFLOPS | ~2170.9 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 132227 | - |
| GPU | 90214 | - |
| Memory | 66044 | - |
| UX | 93063 | 913000 |
| Total score | 383082 | 914585 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 42.3 °C | 41.4 °C |
| Stability | 99% | 56% |
| Graphics test | 6 FPS | 37 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1044 | 6194 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 5954 | 6177 |
| Video editing | 5438 | 5806 |
| Photo editing | 16805 | 17969 |
| Data manipulation | 7091 | 9425 |
| Writing score | 9213 | 15432 |
Memory
| RAM size | 4, 6, 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 64, 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 2.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 512 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 12) | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | MIUI 14 | Stock Android |
| OS size | 18.9 GB | 14.3 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5020 mAh | 4410 mAh |
| Max charge power | 33 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (50% in 30 min) | Yes (42% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:20 hr | 1:51 hr |
| Web browsing | 14:16 hr | 10:54 hr |
| Watching video | 13:55 hr | 16:44 hr |
| Gaming | 05:52 hr | 06:05 hr |
| Standby | 135 hr | 91 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 64 megapixels | 12.2 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 9248 x 6920 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 119° | 114° |
| Lenses | 4 (64 MP + 8 MP + 5 MP + 2 MP) | 2 (12.2 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 64 MP
- Aperture: f/1.9 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.72", Samsung Bright S5KGW1 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
- 12.2 MP
- Aperture: f/1.7 - Focal length: 27 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 8 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/4.0", GalaxyCore GC8034 (BSI CMOS) |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 17 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/2.9", Sony IMX386 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
| Macro lens |
- 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/5.0", Samsung S5K5E9 (ISOCELL CMOS) |
- |
| Depth lens |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Pixel size: 1.75 micron - Sensor: 1/5", GalaxyCore GC02M1 (CMOS) |
- |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Google Pixel 6a from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 16 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4920 x 3264 | 3840 x 2160 |
| Aperture | f/2.48 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | - | 24 mm |
| Pixel size | 1 microns | 1.12 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.1" | 1/2.8" |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5.2 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, HID, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 3.1 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, NAVIC | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC * | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | Yes | No |
| Number of SIM * | 2 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support * | No | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 12 | 20 |
| 5G support | No | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | Yes | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Flagship |
| Announced | April 2020 | May 2022 |
| Release date | May 2020 | June 2022 |
| SAR (head) | 0.66 W/kg | - |
| SAR (body) | 1.02 W/kg | - |
| Sensors |
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | - | Not included |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Google Pixel 6a is definitely a better buy.